Pterodactyl spotted near Dumbarton trestle

Took a quick post-work paddle out of the Palo Alto Baylands launch.  No break-ins, thankfully.  There was a ranger patrolling around who was a little impatient to see us leave at sunset so he could lock the gate.  Hose of fresh water a great thing!

Anyway, I had a very pleasant paddle with slight current assist up to the trestle, and then on my way back had a big surprise: a medium cast length away, four feet+ of dino blasted completely up out of the water!  Whoah!  Looked like it was going to fly away for a second there.

Jim Wruck has told me of seeing such things, but you have to see it to really believe it.  Any thoughts on why they do that?

Any thoughts on why they do that?

Because they can... 

That's the best explaination going...

Insaneduane and I were out there when one jumped so close to Duane he thought about turning around.

I've seen that recently on montezuma...Unbelivable ....Danglin

Santiago-

Those f'ers do that to tease you. To play with your mind as you sit there patiently... for hours... and for some sorry suckers (sorry Chuck)... years waiting for that classic pump that never comes as you watch them jump and roll on the surface. It's as if they are telling you that they are here but you aren't going to catch them. The next dino I get is going to get it... BIG TIME!!!

Freddie

Actually, what they're trying to do is jump into your kayak.  You see, sturgeon navigate by using sonar, a form of echolocation, much like dolphins or bats.  However, the United States Navy has been conducting secret, and highly illegal, counter-sonar intelligence gathering exercises in and around the greater San Francisco Bay area, in the hopes of retrieving one of their "misplaced" twenty-million-dollar counter-terrorist dolphins.  What's happened is the very low frequency, high energy sound waves produced by naval sonar systems has overpowered the sturgeon's navigational equipment (much like our whale friends to the south) and the sturgeon have become confused.  That's right, confused.  Their navigational and reproductive neural pathways have become intertwined.  Instead of interpreting the echo returns from our kayaks as danger signals, they think "Oo-la-la... hey baby... want to tango?"  We are, in essence, nothing more than hot little female sturgeon and their aerial acrobatics are an attempt to attract our attention and position themselves for optimal breeding.  They're trying to jump into your kayak.

I read it on the Internet so it must be true.   

Backslider

Drinkin' or smokin'?

Uh, whatever do you mean?  I wasn't sminkin' or drokin'... Mr. Fisheries Biologist for the SCWA.  Are you implying that my information is, uh, spotty at best? 

Backslider

They're just in shallow water.  If you were a 5' fish in 8' of water and something scared you, you'd jump out of the water too. 

Santiago-

Those f'ers do that to tease you. To play with your mind as you sit there patiently... for hours... and for some sorry suckers (sorry Chuck)... years waiting for that classic pump that never comes as you watch them jump and roll on the surface. It's as if they are telling you that they are here but you aren't going to catch them. The next dino I get is going to get it... BIG TIME!!!

Freddie

WORD!

We had a sturgy come unbuttoned on us saturday.  A couple seconds later it jumped completely clear of the water.  I'm not sure, but I think I saw the tail flip us off as it went back in.   

wow